Apparatus for producing a looped fabric

ABSTRACT

The sinkers of a knitting machine are pivotally mounted immediately adjacent their associated needles in a common slot in the needle-guiding structure of the knitting machine. This arrangement can be used in any suitable circular or flat knitting machines. The slots can be formed by means of removable plates, which also act as supports for the sinkers. Camming systems actuate the sinkers and needles. The sinkers can be of various configurations for different functions in the knitting process.

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[54] APPARATEE non PRQDEUQHNG A 1,546,790 7/1925 OLena ..66/93 LUUPIED EFAEEMI 2,069,672 2/1937 Lawson... 2,329,617 9/1943 lngalls [721 lnvemo Ham AWE, Uhlandweg 7305 2 116 93s 3/1947 Morgenstern ..66/115 bach/Neckar, Germany 7 [22] Filed: AW. H mm FOREIGN PATIENTS OR APPLICATIONS I No: l Germany Primary Examiner-Wm. Carter Reynolds 1 1 Martian Application W Elli-1w Attorney-AFleit, Gipple & Jacobsen Aug. 13, 1968 Germany ..lP17 85 125.1

ABSTRACT [52] US. Ii 615/1106, 66/! 15 The sinkers of a knitting machine are pivotally mounted [5 1] llrnl. ME ...llW4llh1 15/06, D04b 15/14 mediately adjacent their associated needles in a common slot (58] Emmi 107 in the needle-guiding structure of the knitting machine. This arrangement can be used in any suitable circular or flat [56] References Cited knitting machines. The slots can be formed by means of UNITED STATES PATENTS removable plates, which also act as supports for the sinkers. Cammmg systems actuate the smkers and needles. The smkers 430,043 8/ 1 892 sefimlhradsky -6 X can be of various configurations for different functions in the 763,825 6/1904 W11comb ...66/106 X knitting process 1,023,312 4/1912 Himer 66/106 X 1,441,1 10 1/1923 OLena ..66/93 11 Claims, 11]) lwrawing ll igures FAIENIEIlrmz m2 SHEET 1 F 5 human" Hwy ATTOR N EYS SHEET M 0F 5 flnvemonw Harm pprich ATTORNEYS PAIENTEBFEB22 I972 3, 643 A72 sum 5 OF 5 Fig.9

INVENTOR Harry Apprich ATTORNEYJ BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing a looped fabric in which stitch-forming needles are disposed in a cylinder, or other needle-guiding bodies, and wherein sinkers are associated with the needles.

Knitting machines (e.g., circular knitting machines) are known in which displaceably positioned stripping sinkers are arranged in a special sinker circle, with its own camming control, disposed above the cylinder containing the needles. Such an arrangement of sinkers, however, requires a considerable amount of complicated machinery, and a lot of space. Moreover, due to the limited space available the sinkers can usually move only a relatively short distance. This limited movement is especially disadvantageous when, for example, in the manufacture of pile carpet loops which are formed out of a special thread are to be simultaneously tied into the knitted fabric. These loops can be produced to a length of only about 3 mm. with the known devices, because the sinkers used to form the loops can not move the thread any further. Furthermore, it is difficult to accommodate the camming elements needed to control the sinkers, and at the same time accommodate, in the relatively limited space available, the camming elements that control the needles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVEI ITIOI I It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the drawbacks and difficulties set out above. A general object is to dispose sinkers in an apparatus for producing looped fabrics, in close proximity to the needles so that the sinkers have substantial room within which to move, without requiring too much additional machinery. Thus, it will be possible, e.g., in the manufacture of knitted or woven pile carpets, to form substantially longer loops than previously possible.

The present invention accomplishes this by using pivotally mounted tilt sinkers that are disposed together with their associated needles in a common slot in a needle guide. A plurali' ty of tilt sinkers may be associated with one needle, and may be disposed together with the needle in a common slot in the cylinder or the like.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the slots housing the needles and tilt sinkers are formed by plates which are removably inserted into the wall of the cylinders or other needle-guiding element. It is also desirable to have the plates simultaneously serve as the supports for the sinkers. For this purpose recesses may be provided in the plates in which at least one tilt sinker is pivotally mounted by means of a protruding rounded member.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention a resilient spring is disposed in the part of the slot which houses the tilt sinker. This spring presses the tilt sinker into one of its limit positions. It is particularly favorable to mount this spring in that plate which simultaneously serves as a support for the sinker.

The person skilled in the art will recognize immediately that the machinery and space required for the tilt sinker-s is considerably reduced by the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a top view of an apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the cylinder of a circular knitting machine taken along line -5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a. partial view of a longitudinal section of a circular knitting machine taken along line as of FIG. 2.

FIG. l is a sectional view similar to that of Fit]. 3% with the sinker shown in a different position.

FIG. 5 shows a loop'pressing sinker according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial view of the outer surface of a cylinder of a circular knitting machine.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 13-- R3 of FIG. s.

FIG. d is a top view ofa part of the cylinder of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an exploded representation of a sinker and needle assembly according to the present invention.

FIG. it) shows a modified supporting plate member.

DESCRTITION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As can be seen in FIG. l, a knitting machine according to the present invention is provided with a cylinder 211 which is rigidly connected to a toothed ring 2. A pinion 2i driven by a motor (not shown) engages the toothed ring 2 and thus causes cylinder 21 to rotate. Cylinder 211 is concentrically enclosed by stationary cylinder 3T (see FIGS. s and 7), which is held stationary in a known manner (not shown). Thus, cylinder 21 rotates within cylinder 31.

FIGS. 5, d and 7 show sinkers and needles mounted on a circular knitting machine in which a cylinder serves as the needle bed.

Channels, or slots, 22 are worked, e.g., cut, into cylinder 211. These slots begin at the periphery of the cylinder and extend perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing of FIG. I. Slots 22 exhibit, as can be seen in the drawing, a stepped cross section so that each slot is divided into two regions of different radial depth 23, 2d. The difference in depth caused by the stepped construction is approximately 2 mm. in a practical embodiment of the present invention. The radially lower regions 23 of slots 22 serve in a known manner to accommodate the stitchforming needles 25 whose shape is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (partially dotted). Each needle 25 is provided with two radially outwardly extending tabs M which cooperate with camming elements 35 in a known manner so that, when the cylinder Jill rotates, needles 25 are moved up and down to form stitches. The surface portions of cylinder 211 which are disposed along the sides of the needle at the upper end of the slot region 23 serve to strip (sink) the stitches. Camming ele ments 35 are rigidly connected to a. cam ring 32 disposed within stationary cylinder 3T.

As shown in FIG. I, sinkers as are arranged in slots 22 along with needles 25. These sinkers 26 are disposed in that area 24 of the slots which has the lesser radial depth due to the abovementioned stepped construction of the. slots.

It can be clearly seen in FIG. 3 that a relatively slight change in the cross section of camming elements 3d achieves a relatively large deflection of the sinker book which pulls the turning thread of the warp into a loop. The deflection of the hook and thus the size of the loop may easily be 15 millimeters or more while the necessary recesses in the camming elements 34% for this movement need be only 3 to 5 millimeters. The pivoting movement of sinker 26 must occur quickly and be timed such that one sinker starts to the left as the following sinker starts to the right. This must correspond to the needle separation, i.e., the space between two needles. In FIG. ll suitable camming elements 36 are shown for this purpose whose width corresponds approximately to the needle spacing. The machine shown in this figure being a machine with four needle systems, so that four corresponding camming elements as are shown.

It is noted that the present invention is not limited to circular machines, but can be used quite generally with loop-forming apparatus in which needles are guided in a body serving as the needle bed, e.g., flat knitting machines.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and d, sinker 26 is constructed as a pivotally or tiltably mounted stripper sinker. For this purpose, sinker 26 has a protruding rounded member 27 that is pivotally accommodated in a corresponding recess 28 in less deep slot region 24. The center of member 27 is thus the pivot or tilting point of sinker 2d. The mounted pivot member of each species of sinker can be sufficiently wide so that it contacts the adjacent needle. Stripping off the stitch occurs in a known manner by means of the protruding portion 29 of sinker 26; a slot-shaped section 3d receiving the stitch. FIG. 3 shows the sinker 2b in the stripping position," whereas the sinker in FIG. 4 is shown in its retracted position.

Needle 25 and sinker 26 are controlled with the aid of cam ring 31 which rotates with respect to the stationary cylinder 21. A camming element 32 along with camming elements 33, 34, 35 and 36, is fastened to earn ring 31 (FIG. 4). The camming elements 33, 34 and 36 coact with a rearwardly extending follower 37 of sinker 26. whereas camming element 35 controls needle 25' by means of a tab 38 provided on the latter. FIGS. 3 and 4 indicate clearly how the tilt sinker 26 is controlled by the different cross-sectional shape of camrning elements 33, 34 and 36 when cam ring 31 is rotated. The sinkers 26 move back and forth between the end positions shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The same technique can also be used in circular knitting machines with stationary camming elements and a rotating cylinder as well as in all loop-forming textile machines, e.g., fiat knitting machines, which utilize a needle bed and a camming system.

FIG. shows a loop-pressing sinker 53, which is controlled by a rearwardly extending follower 37, pushes the turning thread into a loop (toward the right in FIG. 5). The turning thread in this instance is gripped by a notch 44 provided on sinker 43.

FIGS. 6 to 9 relate to a particularly advantageous arrangement of tilt sinkers according to the present invention. As can be seen in FIGS. 6 to 8, longitudinal slots 52 are worked into the outer surface of cylinder 21 of a circular knitting machine, between which ridges 53 are disposed. There is also provided an annular groove 54 whose cross-sectional shape can be seen in FIG. 7. Plates 55 and 56 are snug fit next to each other in each longitudinal slot 52 (see FIGS. 8 and 9). If necessary, plates 55 and 56 can be wedged over at their lower edges 57 so that they are immovably held in position, but can be removed if required. Groove 54 facilitates insertion and removal of the plates. When plates 55, 56 are inserted, slots 62 with regions 63, 64 of different depth are formed on the outer surface of cylinder 21 to accommodate needles and sinkers. As can be seen in FIG. 9, the plate 56 which is somewhat smaller than plate 55 is provided with a circular recess 58 into which the protruding rounded member 27 of tilt sinkers 45, 47 pivotally mounts. The needle 25 moves between plates 55 and 56 and slides on the outer surfaces of ridges 53.

FIG. 9 shows the arrangement of a sinker 26 in recess 58 of a plate 56. It should be noted that any species of sinker disclosed in the application can be combined with removable plates.

The embodiment of FIGS. 6 to 9 offers the advantage, when compared with the embodiments of FIGS. 2 to i, that the use of plates 55, 56, which can be easily manufactured individually, e.g., by cutting, makes the fabrication and replace ment of the sinker and needle-holding slots on cylinder 21 relatively easy. It is also possible, by using different plates on the same cylinder, to change the position and arrangement of tilt sinkers and needles, and to adapt them to particular operating conditions.

FIG. shows a modified plate 56 corresponding generally to plate 56 of FIG. 9. In plate as a resilient spring 71 is disposed in the area of the recess 53 (see FIG. 9). This spring, which may be, for example, a leaf spring, is cantilever mounted into plate 56. The free end of spring 71 presses against the follower 37 of a sinker (see FIG. 9) and thus holds the hook portion in its rightmost position. Therefore, the tilt sinker need only be moved to its other limit position by means of a camming element because the action of spring 71 will return the sinker to the opposite limit position. It is understood that such a spring 71 could also be disposed directly in cylinder 21 in the slot region 24 which accommodates the sinkers (see FIG. 2).

It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations.

What is claimed is:

I. In a circular knitting machine for producing a looped fabric comprising a luralit of loop-forming needles disposed in respective slots 0 a nee Ie-gurdmg element, and a plurality of sinker means associated with respective ones of said needles, the improvement that each of said sinker means is arranged in the slot in which is arranged the respective needle and that each of said sinker means is pivotally mounted immediately adjacent such respective needles, and a plurality of removable plate members defines said slots, said plate members constituting mounting plates for said sinker means.

2. In a circular knitting machine for producing a looped fabric comprising a plurality of loop-forming needles disposed in respective slots of a needle-guiding element, and a plurality of sinker means associated with respective ones of said needles, the improvement that each of said sinker means is arranged in the slot in which is arranged the respective needle and that each of said sinker means is pivotally mounted immediately adjacent such respective needles, and each of said slots in the needle-guiding element includes two regions having different depths, said sinker means being disposed in the slot region which exhibits the lesser depth.

3. The machine defined in claim I wherein said needle-guiding element includes surfaces adjacent said slots which act as strippers for said needles.

4. The machine defined in claim I wherein said sinker means is a stripping tilt sinker.

5. The machine defined in claim I wherein said sinker means is a loop-pressing tilt sinker.

6. The machine defined in claim I wherein said sinker means includes a protruding rounded member which is pivotally mounted in a recess in each of said slots.

7. The machine defined in claim 6 wherein said protruding rounded member of said sinker means laterally abuts said adj acent needle.

8. The machine defined in claim I further comprising camming means for controlling said sinker means.

9. The machine defined in claim 8 wherein said camming means includes means for timing the actuation of said sinker means to correspond to the separation of said needles.

1G. The machine defined in claim I wherein at least one of said plate members has a circular recess, and said sinker means includes at least one tilt sinker pivotally mounted in said circular recess in said plate member by means of a protruding rounded member on said sinker.

Ii. The machine defined in claim I further comprising resilient means mounted to one of said plates in each of said slots for biasing said sinker means. 

1. In a circular knitting machine for producing a looped fabric comprising a plurality of loop-forming needles disposed in respective slots of a needle-guiding element, and a plurality of sinker means associated with respective ones of said needles, the improvement that each of said sinker means is arranged in the slot in which is arranged the respective needle and that each of said sinker means is pivotally mounted immediately adjacent such respective needles, and a plurality of removable plate members defines said slots, said plate members constituting mounting plates for said sinker means.
 2. In a circular knitting machine for producing a looped fabric comprising a plurality of loop-forming needles disposed in respective slots of a needle-guiding element, and a plurality of sinker means associated with respective ones of said needles, the improvement that each of said sinker means is arranged in the slot in which is arranged the respective needle and that each of said sinker means is pivotally mounted immediately adjacent such respective needles, and each of said slots in the needle-guiding element includes two regions having different depths, said sinker means being disposed in the slot region which exhibits the lesser depth.
 3. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said needle-guiding element includes surfaces adjacent said slots which act as strippers for said needles.
 4. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said sinker means is a stripping tilt sinker.
 5. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said sinker means is a loop-pressing tilt sinker.
 6. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said sinker means includes a protruding rounded member which is pivotally mounted in a recess in each of said slots.
 7. The machine defined in claim 6 wherein said protruding rounded member of said sinker means laterally abuts said adjacent needle.
 8. The machine defined in claim 1 further comprising camming means for controlling said sinker means.
 9. The machine defined in claim 8 wherein said camming means includes means for timing the actuation of said sinker means to correspond to the separation of said needles.
 10. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of said plate members has a circular recess, and said sinker means includes at least one tilt sinker pivotally mounted in said circular recess in said plate member by means of a protruding rounded member on said sinker.
 11. The machine defined in claim 1 further comprising resilient means mounted to one of said plates in each of said slots for biasing said sinker means. 